Management Strategies to Help Hearing Impaired Students

By Barbara

Provide assistive accommodations to address the hearing impairment issue, teachers can minimize student distractions and off-task behavior in the classroom.

Keep the Day Productive

Students with hearing impairments may need assistive technology in the classroom and in their ears (i.e. hearing aids) in order to maximize academic and behavioral success. Accommodations can include sound amplifications located in the classroom that amplifies the teachers and students voices to make words and expectations audible for hearing impaired students. By using the following classroom management strategies, teachers can provide a structured and engaging learning environment for students who may be struggling to listen and behave appropriately in class.

Students with hearing impairments should be seated in a location close to sound amplification equipment and close to the teacher who can use an amplified microphone, sign language or face the student so that lips can be read and facial expressions interpreted.in giving instructions and classroom management redirection.

Teachers can minimize unnecessary off-task behavior by making sure that other students are providing effective role-modeling in behavior for their hearing impaired peers. The same cues can be given to students with hearing impairments when they are engaging in off-task disruptive behavior. An auditory cue can be used that has been established between the teacher and the student to redirect hearing impaired student's management issues.

Having students repeat the classroom rules and consequences can help in providing one-on-one instructions for expected behavior. Teachers can also provide students with written expectations that can be taped inside notebooks.

Using technology in the form of computer-aided projections of cues and off-task scenarios can also assist students in recognizing their own forms of off-task behavior and provide self-control in correcting themselves.

If the student's IEP (Individualized Education Plan) has accommodations for a sign language interpreter in the classroom, teachers can work with the interpreter to provide immediate feedback on classroom management behaviors that impede the student's learning and the learning of those around him/her.

Classroom management strategies for hearing impaired students should be the same as for their non-disabled peers with added caveats specially designed in their IEPs for their individualized instruction and behavioral self-control in the classroom.